Combination roof and sidewall extensions for vehicular hauling beds

ABSTRACT

A collapsible vehicular hauling bed construction wherein a pair of panels are respectively hinged along parallel axes to two opposed sidewalls of a rectangular truck bed and swingable inwardly to inclined abutting positions to form an inverted Ushaped roof, and swingable outwardly to upright positions to form extensions of the opposed sidewalls, in combination with a third panel hinged along a third axis normal to at least one of the two first-named axes, said third panel adapted to rotate between a collapsed position beneath the abutting roof panels and an upright position forming an extension of one of the remaining bed sidewalls, and means for releasably connecting the upright third panel between said upright pair of panels to thereby form a continuous wall extension for three sidewalls of the hauling bed.

United States Patent 1191 Anderson 11 Feb. 5, 1974 COMBINATION ROOF ANDSIDEWALL EXTENSIONS FOR VEHICULAR HAULING Primary Examiner-PhilipGoodman BEDS Assistant Examiner-John A. Carroll [76] Inventor: DennisAnderson, Box 252, Rt. 1, Attorney Agent or Firm Robert Brown Barnum,Minn. 55707 [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: 1972 A collapsible vehicularhauling bed construction [21] APP] 23 700 wherein a pair of panels arerespectively hinged along parallel axes to two opposed sidewalls of arectangular truck bed and swingable inwardly to inclined abutting [52]US. Cl. 296/23 G, 52/66 positions to form an inverted Shaped roof and[51] Int. Cl 1360p 3/34 swingable outwardly to upright positions to form[58] held of Search 296/23 23 23 23 tensions of the opposed sidewalls,in combination with 296/23 R; 52/66 69 a third panel hinged along athird axis normal to at least one of the two first-named axes, saidthird panel [56] References C'ted adapted to rotate between a collapsedposition be- UNITED STATES PATENTS neath the abutting roof panels and anupright position 3,145,044 8/1964 Harrison et al 296/23 MC forming anextension of one of the remaining bed d 3,556,58l 1/1971 Silva 296/23 Gwalls, and means for releasably connecting the upright 3,280,796 10/1966Hatcher 52/70 third panel between said upright pair of panels to1831.482 10/1932 Gilkiso" 296/23 R thereby form a continuous wallextension for three 2,788,238 4/1957 Baird 296/23 R sidewalls of thehauling bed 3,508,781 4/1970 Anderson 296/23 MC 2,640,721 6/1953 Kors2915 23 H 4 Claims, 18 Drawing Figures PATENTED SHEEI 1 BF 4 PATENTEDFEB 5 4 saw u or 4 COMBINATION ROOF AND SIDEWALL EXTENSIONS FORVEHICULAR HAULING BEDS This invention relates to the body constructionof automotive vehicles such as trucks, trailers and the like, and moreespecially to a multiple purpose hauling bed adapted for use undervarying loading conditions.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a vehicularhauling bed so constructed and arranged that its parts may be easily andquickly repositioned to accommodate different hauling and storingrequirements of the user. The invention is especially useful by workmenwho are required to transport tools and equipment to and from numerousjob sites, or by farmers and laborers having varied transportationrequirements ranging from light-weight grocery shopping to hauling heavycommodities such as cattle and grain.

It is another object of this invention to provide a rectangular haulingbed wherein a pair of pivoted panels serves the dual purpose as a roofand as upright extensions of the side walls of the bed, and wherein athird pivoted panel serves a second dual purpose as an upright extensionfor an end sidewall of the bed and as a spacer for the two first-namedpanels.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an article of theclass described which is low in manufacturing costs, simple inconstruction, durable and easily maintained, and adapted to be convertedinto a plurality of load-supporting shapes to accommodate a wide varietyof hauling conditions. Due to the simplicity in construction, the unitcan be produced at a relatively fast rate thereby minimizing theproduction costs.

Some of the objects of invention having been stated, other objects willappear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a combination roof and sidewall extensionassembly for vehicular hauling beds according to my invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of FIG. 1, showing in bold lines the assemblypanels in collapsed position and showing in dot-dash lines the panels inupright positions;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation looking at the right-hand end of FIG. 3,showing in dot-dash lines two other operative positions of the panels;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation similar to FIG. 3 and taken along line 4-4in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the right-hand central portion ofFIG. 3, showing roof panel 21 in lowered position and with the latchassembly 46 unlatched;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view taken along line 6 6 in FIG. 1, butshowing the roof panel 21 in upright latched position;

FIG. 7 is a sectional plan view taken along line 7--7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged elevation looking along line 8-8 in FIG. 1 andalso looking at the left-hand side of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 9--9 in FIG. 3,but showing the combination roofsidewall panel 20 in upright position;

FIG. 10 is a sectional detail view taken along line 10-10 in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view taken along line 11-l1 in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a sectional detail view taken along line 12-12 in FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line l3-13 in FIG.3, but showing the combination roof-sidewall panel 20 in uprightposition;

FIG. 14 is a transverse sectional view taken along lines 14-14 in FIGS.2 and 13;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary sectional plan view taken along line 15-l5 inFIG. 13, but showing the opposed combination roof-sidewall panels 20 and21 in upright positions, and with the end panel 31 in lowered horizontalposition;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged sectional detail along line 16-16 in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged sectional detail view taken along line l717 inFIG. 16, and

FIG. 18 is an enlarged sectional detailview taken along line l8-18 inFIG. 13.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 denotes apick-up automotive truck having a cab 11 and a rectangular hauling bed12. The bed includes a floor 13, longitudinal sidewalls 14 and 15, frontside or end wall 16, and tail gate or rear end wall 17, said tailgatebeing pivotally secured as at 18 and adapted to swing rearwardly anddownwardly in a conventional manner.

Sidewalls 14, 15 and 16 of the truck bed have mounted thereon a U-shapedframe composed of channel segments 14a, 15a and 16a. These segmentsslightly increase the height of the respective side walls 14, 15 and 16and, therefore, form integral portions of the latter. The primaryfunction of these segments, however, is to adapt applicants constructionto conventional truck beds.

The hauling bed 12 is adapted to be covered by inclined roof panelsections 20 and 21 which are respectively hinged as at 22 and 23 to the:upper flanges of the segments 14a and 15a. The free ends of sections 20and 21 are adapted to abut one another when in closed position to form aroof over the hauling bed 12, said free ends forming the roof apex andbeing covered by a cap strip 24. It will be observed in FIGS. 3 and 4that panel sections 20 and 21 may be rotated about hinges 22 and 23 todot-dash upright positions to serve as extensions of the bed side walls14, 14a and 15, 15a respectively; and also may be rotated farther tohorizontally extending dot-dash positions to serve as elevated lateralexten sions of the bed floor 13.

Panel section 20 has vertically disposed half-gables 26 and 27 at itsfront and back ends. Similarly, panel section 21 has vertically disposedhalf-gables 28 and 29. When the panels 20 and 21 are in roof positions,the half-gables 26 and 28 abut one another to form a full front gable(FIG. 4) while the free ends of halfgables 27 and 29 abut and form afull rear gable as shown in FIG. 3.

It will be noted in FIG. 4 that the lower edges of half gables 26 and 28rest upon a weather strip 30 which, in turn, rests upon frame segment16a. Similarly in FIG. 3, half-gables 27 and 29 are supported by weatherstrip 30 and tailgate 17. Weather strip 30 also extends along the uppersides of channel segments 14a and 15a to seal the remaining sides of thetruck bed 12 when the roof sections 20 and 21 are closed. 1

In order to space the front ends of panel sections 20 and 21 apart whenin upright positions, and further to form an upright extension for thefront wall 16, 16a of view taken the hauling bed 12, a third panel 31 ishinged as at 32 to the frame segment 16a. As will be observed in FIGS.11, 12 and 14, each half-gable 26 and 28 has secured thereto a spacerblock 35 by any suitable means such as bolts 35a, the proximate edges ofthese blocks being adapted to abut the opposite upper edges of uprightpanel 31. Panels 20, 21 and 31 are securely held in abutting positionsby means of corner anchors 37 and latch assemblies 46 which will bedescribed later.

The free end portion of panel 31 has a transversely disposed strut orspacer bar 33 attached thereto by any suitable means such as bolts 33a,said bar having oppositely extending end plates 33b with notches 33ctherein respectively (FIGS. 11 and 12). When panel 31 andsections 20 and21 are in upright positions as shown in FIGS. 11, I2 and 14, the notches33c releasably engage bars 36, 36 on the upper free ends of panelsections 20 and 21 respectively to thereby provide another pair of frontcorner connections which cooperate with the above-mentioned anchors 37,37 and latch assemblies 46, 46. When the panel 31 is rotated to thehorizontal position shown in FIGS. 15, 16 and 17, the notches 33c, 33creleasably engage projections 34, 34 integral with the top flanges ofthe oppositely disposed sidewall channel segments 14a, a respectively,thereby stabilizing the panel against lateral movement relative to thesegments when the panel is in collapsed position.

Each connection 37 consists of an L-shaped bolt 38, a wing nut 39 and alug 40 (FIGS. 4, 11, 12 and 14). A lug 40 is integral with each of thepanels and 21 and an L-shaped bolt 38 is mounted in an upright 42 of afront anchor frame 43 supported by the front corners of the truck bed12, thereby individually connecting the panels 20 and 21 to the anchorframe. Frame 43 is provided with a horizontal strut 44 connected betweenuprights 42, said strut being releasably secured to upright panel 31 bymeans of hasps 53 and pins 54 (FIG. 13 and 16).

The panel sections 20 and 21 are also individually and releasably heldin upright positions by means of latch assemblies 46, 46. The assembly46 associated with section 21 (FIGS 6 and 8) comprises a latch bar 47having one end thereof pivotally secured to the front half-gable 28 asat 48, said latch bar having a notch 48a in its free end for releasablyengaging a lug 49 on upright post 42. A spring 50 yieldingly holds thebar 47 in engagement with said lug, The assembly 46 associated withpanel section 20 is opposite hand to the one associated with section 21.

Since the latching assemblies 46 are located adjacent the back of thecab 11 and not conveniently accessible, means located at the rear of thetruck bed for manually and individually releasing each assembly. Thisrelease mechanism consists of a rod 51 rotatably mounted in thehalf-gables of the respective panel sections 20 and 21 (FIGS. 6, 8, 9and 13), the front end of said rod having an L-shaped bent end 51apositioned beneath the free end of latch bar 47, and the rear end of thebar having a second L-shaped handle (FIG. 3). The spring 50 of eachassembly 46 yieldingly presses the free end of latch bar 47 against thefree rod end 51a which, in turn, tends to rotate rod 51 to cause therear end or handle 51b to yieldingly engage a stop 52 on the associatedpanel section. Thus, by first releasing the abovedescribed connections33b, 33c and assemblies 37, the latch assemblies 46 constitute the solesupporting means for each of the panel sections 20 and 21 so that thelatter sections may be rotated either to roof positions or to outwardlyextending horizontal positions (FIGS. 3 and 4).

Moreover, when the assemblies 46 are releasably latched the frontcorners of the upwardly extending side walls 20, 21 and 31 may befurther releasably secured by either or both of the connections 37 and33b, 36.

The individual holding or connecting means 37 and 53,54 are alsoreleasably interconnected to form corner braces between the uprightpanels 20, 21 and 31 at the front of the truck bed. More specifically,the frame 43 serves as a common anchor for hinges 53 of panel 31 as wellas for the assembly 46 thereby rigidly connecting the panels, butpermitting each panel to be individually disconnected.

The rear ends of panel sections 20 and 21 are releasably held in uprightpositions (FIGS. 9, 13 and 15) by a removable anchor frame or strut 56positioned above tailgate 17. The strut 56 is composed of a pair ofparallel uprights 57 and a transverse bar 58, said strut being adaptedto occupy three positions, namely, at right angles to sections 20 and 21(FIG. 15), in a stored posi tion attached to panel section 20 as shownin dot-dash lines in FIG. 9, and in an exterior position with posts oruprights 57 fitting in pockets 14b and 15b (FIGS. 3, 9 and 15). In thelast-named position, the horizontal bar 58 cooperates with horizontalbar 44 of the front frame assembly 43 to supporting elongated memberssuch as pipes and structural elements during transportation. When strut56 is in the right angular position shown in FIG. 15, the lower ends ofparallel uprights 57 fit between lower and upper brackets 60 and 61 onthe interior of each of panels 20 and 21, the lower bracket 62 havingdowel pin 59 fitting into the lower end of the upright, and the upperend of the upright being releasably secured to upper bracket 61 by studscrew 62 (FIGS. 9, l3 and 18).

The removal of the screw in panel section 21 (FIG. 13) permitsdetachment of this end of strut 56 from the section so that it may berotated about its opposite end through an angle of approximately 90 andto the dotdash line position shown in FIG. 9 for storage. In this storedposition, the strut 56 is held adjacent the inner surface of panelsection 20 by brackets 60, 60a, 61, 61a, dowels 59, 59a and screws 62,62a.

When it is desired to lower the panel sections 20 and 21 from theupright positions abutting upright front end panel 31 and upright rearstrut 56, the strut 56 is first removed or repositioned, then the frontpanel 31 is disconnected from anchor frame 43 and rotated to horizontalposition (FIG. 16), then assemblies 37, 37 are disconnected from anchorframe 43, leaving the panel sections secured in upright positions by thelatch assemblies 46. Finally, handles 51b at the rear of the truck bedmay be individually rotated to lower its associated roof panel.

When the strut 56 is positioned in pockets 14a and 15a as previouslydescribed, it further serves to support the panels 20 and 21 inoutstanding positions by means of chains 65, 65 (FIG. 4). Similarly, thefront frame 43' supports outstanding panel sections 20 and 21 by meansof chains 66 (FIG. 3).

If desired, a lock assembly 67 may be provided to prevent unauthorizedaccess to the covered hauling bed (FIG. 3).

Should the tailgate 17 be lowered while the panel sections are in roofpositions, a supplementary support for the rear end of the abuttingpanel sections is preferably provided, said support consisting of a post68 having its upper end pivoted to half-gable 29 and its lower endresting upon floor 13 of the truck bed.

In FIG. 17, it will be observed that panel 21 is hinged intermediate itsends along its inside face to the outer edge of outstanding flange 70 atthe top of bed sidewall 15, a to thereby permit the panel edge portion71 to rotate to the dot-dash line position and extend inwardly beneaththe flange when the panel is in outwardly extending horizontal position.

I claim:

1. A combination roof and wall extension assembly for vehicular haulingbeds (12) having a floor (13), a pair of oppositely disposed sidewalls(14, 14a, 15, 15a), and at least one end wall (16), comprising:

a. a pair of panels (20, 21) forming a roof cover over said bed;

b. means (22) for hingedly securing a marginal edge portion of one ofsaid panels upon one of said sidewalls (14, 14a);

c. means (23) for hingedly securing a marginal edge portion of the otherof said panels (21) upon the other of said sidewalls (15, 15a), saidpanels being swingable about their respective hinge means to and fromsaid roof covering positions and positions forming upright extensions oftheir associated side walls;

d. a third panel (31) having one edge portion thereof hingedly securedupon said end wall (16) and rotatable between a position overlying saidfloor (13) and a position forming an upright extension of the LIIassociated wall;

e. an anchor frame (43) disposed adjacent the outside face of said thirdpanel when the latter is in upright position;

f. means (46) for releasably latching each of said first and secondpanels (20, 21) in its upright position and to said anchor frame;

g. means (33b, 33c, 36) independent of said latch means and operableupon rotation of said third panel (31) to its upright position forlaterally holding the free end portions of said upright first and secondpanels in spaced relation; and

h. means (43, 53, 54) for releasably securing said third panel (31) inits upright position.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said releasable latchmeans (46) is mounted at one end of each of said first and second panels(20, 21), and further comprising means (51b) at the other end of each ofthe last-named panels for manually operating said latch means. i

3. The combination as defined :in claim 1 and further comprisingvertically releasable :means (33, 33b, 33c, 34) for securing the freeend of said third panel against lateral movement relative to saidoppositely disposed sidewalls (14, 14a, 15, 15a) when the panel is inits overlying position.

4. The combination as defined in claim 2 and further 7 comprisingvertically releasable means (33, 33b, 33c, 34) for securing the free endof said third panel against lateral movement relative to said oppositelydisposed sidewalls (14, 14a, 15, 15a) when the panel is in its overlyingposition.

1. A combination roof and wall extension assembly for vehicular haulingbeds (12) having a floor (13), a pair of oppositely disposed sidewalls(14, 14a, 15, 15a), and at least one end wall (16), comprising: a. apair of panels (20, 21) forming a roof cover over said bed; b. means(22) for hingedly securing a marginal edge portion of one of said panels(20) upon one of said sidewalls (14, 14a); c. means (23) for hingedlysecuring a marginal edge portion of the other of said panels (21) uponthe other of said sidewalls (15, 15a), said panels being swingable abouttheir respective hinge means to and from said roof covering positionsand positions forming upright extensions of their associated side walls;d. a third panel (31) having one edge portion thereof hingedly securedupon said end wall (16) and rotatable between a position overlying saidfloor (13) and a position forming an upright extension of the associatedwall; e. an anchor frame (43) disposed adjacent the outside face of saidthird panel when the latter is in upright position; f. means (46) forreleasably latching each of said first and second panels (20, 21) in itsupright position and to said anchor frame; g. means (33b, 33c, 36)independent of said latch means and operable upon rotation of said thirdpanel (31) to its upright position for laterally holding the free endportions of said upright first and second panels in spaced relation; andh. means (43, 53, 54) for releasably securing said third panel (31) inits upright position.
 2. The combination as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid releasable latch means (46) is mounted at one end of each of saidfirst and second panels (20, 21), and further comprising means (51b) atthe other end of each of the last-named panels for manually operatingsaid latch means.
 3. The combination as defined in claim 1 and furthercomprising vertically releasable means (33, 33b, 33c, 34) for securingthe free end of said third panel against lateral movement relative tosaid oppositely disposed sidewalls (14, 14a, 15, 15a) when the panel isin its overlying position.
 4. The combination as defined in claim 2 andfurther comprising vertically releasable means (33, 33b, 33c, 34) forsecuring the free end of said third panel against lateral movementrelative to said oppositely disposed sidewalls (14, 14a, 15, 15a) whenthe panel is in its overlying position.